[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67682-67683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21654]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 189 / Monday, October 2, 2023 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 67682]]



DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 474

[EERE-2021-VT-0033]
RIN 1904-AF47


Petroleum-Equivalent Fuel Economy Calculation

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Notification of ex parte communication; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On April 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 
published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR), in which DOE proposed 
regulations regarding procedures for calculating a value for the 
petroleum equivalent fuel economy of electric vehicles (EVs) for use in 
the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program administered by the 
Department of Transportation (DOT). In their comments to DOE's NOPR, 
the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) raised the 
issue of the ability of manufacturers to comply with the proposed PEF 
in 2027 due to vehicle design cycles. DOE is providing notice that it 
sent follow-up letters to member companies of the Auto Innovators 
inviting the companies to provide information to clarify the challenges 
to implementing the revised standard to apply to model year (MY) 2027-
2031 vehicles as proposed. In this notice and request for comment, DOE 
requests additional comment on the questions posed to the Auto 
Innovator members providing a similar opportunity to all stakeholders.

DATES: The comment period for the NOPR that published on April 11, 
2023, closed on June 12, 2023 (88 FR 21525). DOE will accept comments 
responding to this document on or before October 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit comments using 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. Alternatively, interested persons 
may submit comments, identified by RIN 1904-AF47, by any of the 
following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov/docket/EERE-2021-VT-0033. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected]. Include the RIN 1904-AF47 
in the subject line of the message.
    Postal Mail: U.S. Department of Energy, RIN 1904-AF47, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585. If possible, please 
submit all items on a compact disc (``CD''), in which case it is not 
necessary to include printed copies.
    No telefacsimilies (faxes) will be accepted. Hand delivered 
comments may be accepted upon request. For detailed instructions on 
submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking 
process, see Public Participation section for details.
    Docket: The docket, which includes Federal Register notices, 
comments, and other supporting documents/materials, is available for 
review at www.regulations.gov. All documents in the docket are listed 
in the www.regulations.gov index. However, some documents listed in the 
index such as those containing information that is exempt from public 
disclosure, may not be publicly available.
    The docket web page can be found at the www.regulations.gov web 
page associated with RIN 1904-AF47. The docket web page contains simple 
instructions on how to access all documents, including public comments, 
in the docket. See Public Participation for information on how to 
submit comments through www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Mr. Kevin Stork, U.S. Department of Energy, Vehicle Technologies 
Office, EE-3V, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585. 
Telephone: (202) 586-8306. Email: [email protected].
    Ms. Laura Zuber, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General 
Counsel, GC-33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121. 
Telephone: (240) 306-7651. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Request for Comments

    On April 11, 2023, DOE proposed to update the petroleum-equivalency 
factor used to calculate the fuel economy of electric vehicles (EVs). 
88 FR 21525. DOE proposed that the revised PEF value apply to MY 2027 
vehicles. 88 FR 21531. DOE noted that the proposed PEF value would 
cover the same vehicles covered by the NHTSA CAFE regulation. In the 
NOPR, DOE requested comments on this proposed approach. Id.
    Several commenters submitted comments in response to this specific 
request. Specifically, Auto Innovators raised concerns related to the 
proposed effective date.\1\ Auto Innovators argued that because engine 
design and development cycles are typically much longer than three 
years, there are extremely limited opportunities for engine redesign 
for model year 2027 vehicles. Auto Innovator Comments at 17. In 
addition, Auto Innovators took the position that there is 
``insufficient lead-time'' because the proposed PEF value would 
``require even more rapid improvements to CAFE performance,'' but that 
``product planning decisions have already been made.'' Id. Another 
commenter suggested that if DOE did move forward with decreased PEF 
value, that the decreased PEF value should not apply until after 
2031.\2\
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    \1\ Comments from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, June 
12, 2023 (Auto Innovator Comments).
    \2\ Comments from Porsche Cars North America, Inc., June 12, 
2023, at 3.
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    On September 14, 2023, DOE sent letters to member companies of Auto 
Innovators inviting them to clarify comments regarding the effective 
date.\3\ DOE posted a memorandum in the docket for this rulemaking that 
identifies the recipients of these letters and includes a PDF of the 
letters. Responses to that letter will be included in the docket for 
this rulemaking (except information deemed to be exempt from public 
disclosure).
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    \3\ DOE posted a memorandum regarding ex parte communication in 
the docket for this rulemaking the same day as it posted this 
request. This memorandum states that DOE sent the posted letters to 
members of Auto Innovators on September 14, 2023.
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    DOE is taking public comment on the same two questions that DOE 
posed to the Auto Innovators:
    1. Identify specific situations where there is a risk that an 
automaker would

[[Page 67683]]

have lead time challenges should the NOPR be finalized as proposed.
    2. Provide information, data, and associated analysis detailing 
specific challenges regarding to lead time.

Public Participation

    DOE will accept data and information responding to this document, 
but no later than the date provided in the DATES section at the 
beginning of this document. Interested parties may submit the requested 
data and information using any of the methods described in the 
ADDRESSES section at the beginning of this document.
    Submitting responses via www.regulations.gov. The 
www.regulations.gov web page will require you to provide your name and 
contact information. Your contact information will be viewable to DOE 
Building Technologies staff only. Your contact information will not be 
publicly viewable except for your first and last names, organization 
name (if any), and submitter representative name (if any). If your 
response is not processed properly because of technical difficulties, 
DOE will use this information to contact you. If DOE cannot read your 
response due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, DOE may not be able to consider your response.
    However, your contact information will be publicly viewable if you 
include it in the response itself or in any documents attached to your 
response. Any information that you do not want to be publicly viewable 
should not be included in your response, nor in any document attached 
to your response. Persons viewing responses will see only first and 
last names, organization names, correspondence containing responses, 
and any documents submitted with the responses.
    Do not submit to www.regulations.gov information for which 
disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and 
commercial or financial information (hereinafter referred to as 
Confidential Business Information (CBI)). Responses submitted through 
www.regulations.gov cannot be claimed as CBI. Responses received 
through the website will waive any CBI claims for the information 
submitted. For information on submitting CBI, see the Confidential 
Business Information section.
    DOE processes submissions made through www.regulations.gov before 
posting. Normally, responses will be posted within a few days of being 
submitted. However, if large volumes of responses are being processed 
simultaneously, your response may not be viewable for up to several 
weeks. Please keep the tracking number that www.regulations.gov 
provides after you have successfully uploaded your response.
    Submitting comments via email or postal mail. Responses and 
documents submitted via email or postal mail also will be posted to 
www.regulations.gov. If you do not want your personal contact 
information to be publicly viewable, do not include it in your response 
or any accompanying documents. Instead, provide your contact 
information in a cover letter. Include your first and last names, email 
address, telephone number, and optional mailing address. The cover 
letter will not be publicly viewable as long as it does not include any 
requested information.
    Include contact information each time you submit responses, data, 
documents, and other information to DOE. If you submit via postal mail 
please provide all items on a CD, if feasible, in which case it is not 
necessary to submit printed copies. No telefacsimiles (``faxes'') will 
be accepted.
    Responses, data, and other information submitted to DOE 
electronically should be provided in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 
Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that 
are not secured, that are written in English, and that are free of any 
defects or viruses. Documents should not contain special characters or 
any form of encryption and, if possible, they should carry the 
electronic signature of the author.
    Campaign form letters. Please submit campaign form letters by the 
originating organization in batches of between 50 to 500 form letters 
per PDF or as one form letter with a list of supporters' names compiled 
into one or more PDFs. This reduces processing and posting time.
    Confidential Business Information. Pursuant to 10 CFR 1004.11, any 
person submitting information that he or she believes to be 
confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via 
email two well-marked copies: one copy of the document marked 
``confidential'' including all the information believed to be 
confidential, and one copy of the document marked ``non-confidential'' 
with the information believed to be confidential deleted. DOE will make 
its own determination about the confidential status of the information 
and treat it according to its determination.
    It is DOE's policy that all responses may be included in the public 
docket, without change and as received, including any personal 
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be 
exempt from public disclosure).

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on September 
26, 2023, by Jeffrey Marootian, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, pursuant to delegated 
authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original 
signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes 
only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal 
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been 
authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for 
publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This 
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this 
document upon publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on September 27. 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-21654 Filed 9-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P